Actors Who Were Almost Cast in Fifty Shades of Grey

11 Actors Who Were Almost Cast in Fifty Shades of Grey

Fifty Shades of Grey madness is on, and there's a lot to stoke the fire. The movie has been released (complete with a sexy soundtrack), and the film broke all kinds of records at the box office in its opening weekend. You might now forever see Jamie Dornan as Christian and Dakota Johnson as Ana, but did you know there were a ton of other actors up for the roles? Take a look at the contenders like Charlie Hunnam, Shailene Woodley, and more stars who were almost cast in the racy film!

Shailene Woodley was one of E L James's early favorites, according to THR, but the actress's press schedule for Divergent conflicted with the filming of the movie. Interestingly, sources say she "wasn't afraid of the nudity in the film's explicit sex scenes."

Garrett Hedlund, heavily courted by Universal for the role of Christian, was this close to nabbing the lead. However, The Hollywood Reporter said he passed "because he couldn't connect with the character."

Author Bret Easton Ellis tweeted that "E L James and I were at Rob Pattinson's house when she admitted that Rob was first choice for Christian." He also commented that fan favorite Ian Somerhalder was "never in [the] running."

Pretty Little Liars star Lucy Hale told Cosmopolitan that her audition for the movie was "very, very sexual." She didn't end up with the part, but she did say, "it's one of those things where you have to commit wholeheartedly or you're going to make a fool of yourself."